REFLECTIONS OF MY DOCTORAL JOURNEY

PhD PORTFOLIO – NARRATIVE PAPER

By:

Colin King

July, 2014

Acadia University

Wolfville, Nova Scotia

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Introduction

The purpose of this Narrative Paper is to provide you with an exposition of my

intellectual progress and growth since the onset of my Inter-University Doctoral Program in

Educational Studies in July of 2013. The Professional Portfolio and Narrative Paper are meant to

replace the traditional comprehensive examination process that normally evaluates a doctoral

student’s residency period. According to the requirements of the Portfolio set by the Inter-

University Doctoral Administrative Committee (IDAC), I was tasked to gather artifacts to

demonstrate competence in five principle areas: 1) general knowledge (theory and trends); 2) in-

depth knowledge of theme(s); 3) research knowledge and competencies; 4) professional and

collegial competencies; and 5) teaching and instructional competencies. This Narrative Paper

accompanies my Portfolio as a reflective writing piece to provide rationale for the selection of

each artifact. More specifically, the Narrative must include: 1) a summary of the contents of the

portfolio; 2) a statement of how each artifact meets the one of the five competency areas; 3) a

statement of the student’s role in preparing the artifact (individual or in collaboration with

someone else); 4) a statement of the doctoral program objectives and student outcomes as set by

the IDAC; 5) a statement explaining the intellectual synergy reflected in each artifact; and 6) a

reflective statement about the process and how the contents of the Portfolio address the student’s

research goals and professional development goals.

To present the artifacts included in my Portfolio and Narrative, I have created figures (as

shown on the next page) to outline my fifteen artifacts and to organize them by each individual

area of competence. Throughout this paper, I will reflect upon each artifact and describe how it

has helped me to grow as a doctoral student, educator, and researcher.

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General Knowledge (Theory and Trends) – Artifact #1 – EDUC8013 Final Paper – My

Initial Journey into Educational Theory and Philosophy

The course EDUC 8013, Foundations of Educational Inquiry, was my first introduction

to the Inter-University Doctoral Program and it was a very intimidating course to start with. This

intensive course was designed to provide us with a general overview of educational theory and

philosophy with a particular focus being placed on contemporary thought/theoretical frameworks

used in educational research. In that I had little prior experience studying in the social sciences, I

found it necessary to do extended readings beyond assigned texts in order to understand and

contribute to the class each day. This was very challenging due to the time constraints of a short

course (two weeks). Nonetheless this was a valuable process skill to develop as I found myself

gaining the ability to actively and critically think and discuss various educational theories and

philosophies with my professor and other classmates. This was a significant accomplishment

very early on in my doctoral studies; the realization that I could understand these complex topics

and learn how to view topics/discussions from different perspectives if I put in the additional

time and effort to read additional sources. An extension of this experience had me generate a

very useful ‘map’ of traditional and contemporary educational thought where I could situate my

own immature theoretical ideas.

For a Portfolio artifact, I have included the final paper for this course. The purpose of this

assignment was to write a 5000-8000 word paper that was representative of my introductory

theoretical statement in the grand conversation that is educational theory. I decided to write my

paper on my initial journey through educational theory and philosophy by showing where I was,

where I am, and where I see myself going as an educational theorist/researcher.

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Writing this paper met the following expectations for student outcomes, as presented in

the Inter-University PhD in Educational Studies Doctoral Student Outcomes handout: 1) I

developed a comprehensive, detailed and well-founded understanding of educational theory,

especially the historical and philosophical study of education; 2) I gained a sophisticated

theoretical grasp of the history and philosophy of inquiry in the social sciences and education; 3)

I gained a thorough understanding of the substantial body of knowledge that is at the forefront of

educational studies; 4) I developed a keen sense of self-awareness leading to engagement in

meaningful reflection about their place in the discipline; and 5) I acquired the intellectual

independence and autonomy to remain engaged to be able to evaluate the broader implications of

applying educational knowledge to complex leadership situations.

General Knowledge (Theory and Trends) – Artifact #2 – EDUC8033 Final Paper – Athletic

Therapy through a Social Science Lens

During the fall and winter semesters of this past year, we also completed a doctoral

seminar course in contemporary educational theory (EDUC 8033) with Dr. Donovan Plumb. The

purpose of this course was to explore how various educational philosophies, research paradigms,

and theories manifest into contemporary educational research debates and dialogues. In the

beginning, this also proved to be a very challenging course for me. The readings were often very

dense and required an extensive background in the social sciences to be able to develop a

comprehensive understanding of the course material. As with my previous encounter with

educational readings, I was very much challenged to do additional readings to fully understand

the context of a wide range of contemporary educational theories. For the final paper in this

course, we had to demonstrate a prospectus of ways that contemporary educational theory would

be addressed within the context of the remainder of our PhD studies. Therefore, I decided to

explore the profession of athletic therapy through a social science lens and show how various

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contemporary educational theories were related to my proposed doctoral research. After

submitting this paper, I received confidence building positive feedback from my professor.

Within his feedback he provided me with useful suggestions to help strengthen the theoretical

framework and philosophical perspectives of my doctoral research. After addressing these

suggested changes, I decided to use this final paper as one of my Portfolio artifacts because it

shows my broad familiarity with prominent social science and educational theoretical traditions

within the profession of athletic therapy. I found it very useful to analyze my profession through

a social science lens, because developing this conceptual framework is an important first step

before being able to explore the different types of pedagogy that are used in accredited athletic

therapy institutions.

This artifact meets the following student outcomes, as presented in the Inter-University

PhD in Educational Studies Doctoral Student Outcomes handout: 1) to develop a comprehensive,

detailed and well-founded understanding of educational theory, especially the historical and

philosophical study of education; 2) to develop a sophisticated grasp of the history and

philosophy of inquiry in the social sciences and education; 3) to develop a thorough

understanding of the substantial body of knowledge that is at the forefront of educational studies;

4)to gain respect for the scope of the research topic that I will be exploring in my doctoral

research; and 5) to acquire the intellectual independence to remain engaged to be able to evaluate

broader implications of applying educational knowledge to complex situations (e.g. relate

material to a health professional organization like athletic therapy).

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General Knowledge (Theory and Trends) – Artifact #3 – Education Conference Reports

During the past year, I attended my first two strictly educational conferences. In July of

2013, I attended the Apple Technology in the 21st Century Conference in Antigonish, NS, and in

March of 2014, I attended the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE)

Conference in Jacksonville, FL. While slightly different in focus, these conferences dealt with a

similar topic of technology use in education.

The Apple Technology in the 21st Century Conference was dedicated to introducing a

variety of ways that Apple technologies and applications could be used within the classroom.

However, no one at the conference discussed the importance of pedagogical considerations

inherent in the use of these technologies/applications. From this conference and my own personal

experience, it appears that many educators use technology based upon the assumption that

adding technology necessarily improves learning. However, I do not agree with this premise. I

believe that technology has potential to empower learning yet it needs to be grounded in strong

foundational pedagogy. In comparison, this belief was commonly discussed and defended at the

SITE conference in Jacksonville. Instead of just presenting different types of technology, the

SITE conference did an excellent job of offering suggestions of how to integrate technological

knowledge with pedagogical knowledge and content knowledge. The importance of this

discussion can be summarized using the Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge

(TPACK) conceptual framework. To effectively use technology for education, a teacher should

explore the various connections between technological knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and

content knowledge in their respective discipline. The TPACK concept will be used to frame my

proposed doctoral research so it was a great learning experience to be at an educational

conference that provided me with a lot of research and background information describing this

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concept. As a Portfolio artifact, I have included a summary of my experiences with each of these

educational conferences. I have also related what I learned from these conferences to general

educational theory, theoretical frameworks, and my proposed doctoral research.

These general education conferences introduced me to different types of contemporary

research that are presently being explored within the field of educational technology. Through

these experiences, I also acquired the skills to become more reflective and critical of various

types of research as I found myself critiquing each presentation that I attended. I would ask

myself questions such as: do the methods match the research questions? Is there anything that I

would do differently if I designed the project? Are their findings supported by their data? I

believe that this is a very useful exercise because I will need to be able to answer and defend

similar questions when designing and defending my own doctoral research project.

Attending these two educational conferences met the following expectations for student

outcomes, as presented in the Inter-University PhD in Educational Studies Doctoral Student

Outcomes handout: 1) to develop an in-depth focused knowledge of issues in educational studies

related to curriculum studies; 2) to gain knowledge of a wide range of methodological

approaches to research and attendant methods for data collection and analysis; 3) to develop a

comprehensive understanding of various educational theories; 4) to earn respect and appreciation

for the scope of my research area; 5) to gain a keen sense of self-awareness leading to

meaningful reflection about my place in my discipline; and 6) to use reflective, rational, and

critical thinking to gather and interpret information in order to form judgments.

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In-Depth Knowledge of Theme(s) – Artifact #1 – Journal of Applied Learning Technology

Manuscript (Lead Author)

In April of 2013, I travelled to Kingston, Jamaica to do fieldwork research at the

University of Technology, Jamaica (UTECH). The purpose of this project was to elicit student

feedback on the effectiveness of using a technology-assisted case-based learning educational tool

in an athletic training specific context. Even though this research trip was completed before I was

considered as a doctoral student, it was still a valuable learning experience that highlighted a

number of important issues and topics that are specific to my doctoral area of focus. I gained

experience in: choosing a research design; questionnaire development; open-ended interviewing;

participant observation; and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data; all of which will be used

in my own doctoral research. This research project could even be considered to be a pilot project

that is very closely related to the research questions of my proposed doctoral research (e.g. how

do athletic therapy students experience technology-assisted case-based learning?).

Additionally, I was the lead author (in collaboration with my supervisor Gregg

MacKinnon and Dr. Lorie Lawrence from the University of Technology, Jamaica) responsible

for writing a manuscript regarding the results of this research project for submission to the

Journal of Applied Learning and Technology (JALT). I wrote the entire manuscript as a doctoral

student (Dr. MacKinnon was the main editor and also provided suggestions/additions; Dr.

Lawrence wrote the section on the context of the study), as it was completed concurrently while

writing my other assignments, papers, and course requirements. The final manuscript was

submitted for consideration to JALT in March of 2014. At the time of writing this Narrative

Paper, I am awaiting feedback from the journal editors. As a Portfolio artifact, I have included a

copy of the manuscript that was submitted to the JALT.

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The collaborative effort used to write this manuscript, meets the following expectations

for student outcomes, as presented in the Inter-University PhD in Educational Studies Doctoral

Student Outcomes handout: 1) to gain a substantive knowledge of methodological approaches to

research and attendant methods for data collection and analysis; 2) to become aware of

professional codes of conduct and standards through the practice of research; 3) to develop

leadership through successful guidance and mentoring of collaborators; 4) to demonstrate full

expertise in one of more specific research methods (interviewing and focus group analysis); 5) to

apply conceptual understanding and methodological competency to generate new knowledge in

the field of athletic training education; and 6) to communicate complex ideas, issues, and

conclusions clearly and effectively.

This was my first attempt at writing a manuscript as the lead author and it was a great

learning experience. More specifically, I learned how to analyze my research findings, recognize

emergent themes, organize my ideas, ensuring that there was a logical flow between these ideas,

and how to substantiate my opinion. Throughout this process, I received valuable feedback from

both of my collaborators that will help to improve my future doctoral research and my overall

research writing skills. I know that in order to become a successful academic (which is one of my

future professional goals), I need to improve my academic writing skills. When writing, I have a

few tendencies and style points that I need to watch out for in the future. For example, I know

that I have the tendency to use more words than necessary. However, I understand the value of

economy of wording and it is something that I have been trying hard to recognize and improve

upon. Since realizing this tendency, I believe that I have made significant improvements,

especially since starting the doctoral program. When I read and reflect upon my previous papers

and assignments from my Masters of Education courses, I can see major differences between

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now and then. Nevertheless, I realize that I still have a lot of room for improvement and will

continue to develop as I move through my doctoral journey.

In-Depth Knowledge of Theme(s) – Artifact #2 – CBL Literature Review

In the fall semester (2013), we completed a course (EDUC 8043) that focused on

exploring the theoretical literature in the educational area(s) that ground and inform our

individual research interests. The final assignment for this course was to write a critical,

integrative literature review that critiqued, synthesized, and reviewed our research topics. It was

through my literature searches, readings, and the actual writing of this review that I became

much more informed about my research topic (case-based learning in athletic therapy education)

and learned how to evaluate it from multiple perspectives. In addition I began to formulate new

connections for future research projects based on the gaps in the literature. As a Portfolio artifact,

I have included my literature review on case-based learning, as well as a summary of the

feedback that I received from my doctoral committee members.

By completing a critical, integrative literature review on case-based learning, it allowed

me to meet the following student outcomes, as presented in the Inter-University PhD in

Educational Studies Doctoral Student Outcomes handout: 1) develop a thorough understanding

of a substantial body of knowledge that is at the forefront of my research topic; 2) gain respect

and appreciation for the scope of the area that I am researching; 3) gain appreciation for the

complexity of knowledge and the potential contributions of other methods and disciplines; 4)

demonstrate advanced analytical and creative skills; and 5) demonstrate excellent writing and

research skills in contemporary scholarly contexts.

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This assignment allowed me to increase my critical thinking ability and to recognize

some of the potential gaps within the existing research through a detailed and comprehensive

search of the literature. When designing a project it is important to review the literature, be

critical of previous studies, and recognize any potential gaps to demonstrate a need for my

proposed doctoral research. The purpose of a doctoral project is to have a specific question that

can make an original contribution to a specific area of research. During this literature review

process, I also received valuable feedback from my doctoral committee that will prove to be a

significant help when I go to write my dissertation proposal and the literature review that

accompanies this proposal. Most importantly, I need to make sure that the claims that I make in

the review are research-based, not opinion-based. Therefore, I need to give more information to

the reader about the actual research that was done by the researchers. This will allow the reader

to make their own interpretations and evaluate the claims that are made in my review.

In-Depth Knowledge of Theme(s) – Artifact #3 – Draft Methodology Chapter

During the winter semester (2014), we completed an advanced research seminar course

(EDUC 8053) that placed a particular focus on contemporary educational research

methodologies and methods. The central purpose of this course was to develop a thorough

understanding of the range of issues within our specific area of focus by exploring various

methodological/methods problems associated with our doctoral research projects. This course

was successful in preparing me to: 1) examine a number of problems that currently inform my

research topic; 2) think about the rationale for using different research methodologies; 3) see the

value in using different research methods; 4) further develop my theoretical and philosophical

assumptions that will inform my research; and 5) think about the methodological orientations

and research designs that will be used for my proposed doctoral research. The final assignment

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for this course asked us to write a draft methodology chapter for our proposed doctoral research.

The purpose of writing this assignment was to provide us with a solid methodological beginning

for our impending research. I have decided to include this draft methodology chapter as a

Portfolio artifact because it demonstrates my ability to think about various methodological issues

within my proposed research area. Writing this assignment allowed me to think about various

methods and approaches to research that I intend to use to investigate my research questions,

while also locating these approaches in a larger methodological or theoretical orientation.

Furthermore, this artifact is representative of a thorough understanding of a wide range of

research issues within my proposed area of focus.

My course instructor provided me with useful feedback from this assignment that was

addressed before turning it into a Portfolio artifact. I understand that my methodology chapter

will be continuously revised and added to before becoming a final product of my doctoral

dissertation. However, this draft assignment provided me with a solid beginning to answer

important methodological questions, including: What is it you want to find out and what is your

theoretical lens? What are the paradigmatic questions that are informing your research? What are

the relationships between your “what” and “how” questions? What methods will you use to

investigate your questions?

My draft methodology chapter is representative of the following student outcomes, as

presented in the Inter-University PhD in Educational Studies Doctoral Student Outcomes

handout: 1) to develop a comprehensive and detailed understanding of educational theory; 2) to

develop a theoretical grasp of the history of philosophy of inquiry in the social sciences and

education; 3) to develop a focused knowledge of several issues in educational studies related to

curriculum studies; 4) to gain a substantive knowledge of a wide range of methodological

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approaches to research; and 5) to gain a substantive knowledge of attendant methods for data

collection and analysis.

Research Knowledge and Competencies – Artifact #1 – Ethics Reviews

In order to maximize the potential benefits of the research process, researchers need to

have the academic freedom to disseminate the results of their particular investigation. However,

with academic freedom comes major responsibility. One of the most important responsibilities

for the researcher is to ensure that the research process meets high ethical standards that respects

and protects all participants. According to the Canadian Tri-Council policy on research ethics,

ethical principles and guidelines play an important role in advancing the pursuit of knowledge

while protecting and respecting participants in order to minimize harm. The ethical review

process is used to identify potential ethical issues in research design and allows the researcher to

describe the ways that these issues will be addressed and handled within their research. For my

Portfolio artifact, I have included two ethics applications that were successfully submitted to the

Acadia University Research Ethics Board over the past year. One ethics application was from a

pilot project that is directly related to my proposed doctoral research. This application was

submitted to the Ethics Board in September, 2013. The other ethics application is from one of my

honours students, which was submitted in July, 2013.

Learning about the ethical review process endorsed the following student outcomes, as

presented in the Inter-University PhD in Educational Studies Doctoral Student Outcomes

handout: 1) to develop a substantive knowledge of a wide range of methodological approaches to

research and attendant methods for data collection and analysis; 2) to respect the need to follow a

flexible course of action leading to personal self-sufficiency; 3) to develop advanced analytical

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skills in relation to research evaluation; 4) to make informed judgments about complex

disciplinary ethical issues; and 5) to translate research into knowledge that is understandable to

non-specialists in my field.

Writing ethics applications enabled me to become more comfortable with identifying

possible ethical issues within my research. It also allowed me to lay down the foundation for

designing a respectable and ethical research project. I was able to think about the potential

ethical consequences of my research and made sure that my research design addressed these

possible implications. This exercise also proved to be an effective pedagogical tool because I

was able to pass on my new knowledge of ethical issues to my undergraduate honours students

as they were going through the same ethics application procedure for their own research. The

ethical review process is an important component of any type of research project so it is

necessary to get practice and become knowledgeable about writing these applications. I feel that

I am now better prepared to recognize ethical issues in research and to write future ethics

applications, especially for my proposed doctoral research.

Research Knowledge and Competencies – Artifact #2 – Case-Based Learning Annotated

Bibliography

An annotated bibliography is an organized list of sources that can be prepared in order to

serve a number of different purposes, depending on the objective of the researcher. For one of

my doctoral courses (EDUC 8043 – Focused Educational Studies), the objective of our

assignment was to keep an annotated bibliography to demonstrate expertise in our own particular

research area. As demonstrated in my bibliography assignment, entries are organized in

alphabetical order and include an annotation for each item. There are many different types of

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annotated bibliographies, with the most common ones including either an abstract or annotation

for each citation. Abstracts are a descriptive summary of a research publication, whereas

annotations are descriptive and critical; allowing for the ability to offer a point of view, instead

of relying on just the description. Instead of writing out the abstracts for each publication in my

assignment, I decided to include annotations as its substitute. By using this type of annotated

bibliography, I was able to complete a critical analysis of the literature surrounding my research

topic (case-based learning). I was able to reflect upon my readings and write about how it

coincides or contradicts with other sources that I found. As a Portfolio artifact, I have included

my annotated bibliography assignment. I placed this artifact in this competency area to establish

my new level of critical analysis within my research area.

This annotated bibliography assignment meets the following student outcomes, as

presented in the Inter-University PhD in Educational Studies Doctoral Student Outcomes

handout: 1) to develop a thorough understanding of a substantial body of knowledge that is at the

forefront of my research topic; 2) to develop an in-depth, focused knowledge of several issues in

educational studies related to curriculum studies; 3) to gain respect and appreciation for the

scope of the area that I am exploring; 4) to gain appreciation for the complexity of knowledge

and the potential contributions of other interpretations and methods; 5) to learn how to apply

advanced analytical and creative skills; and 6) to use reflective, rational, and critical thinking to

gather and interpret information from various sources.

Completing this assignment allowed me to demonstrate the necessary research

competencies and critical thinking abilities that are required to effectively analyze current

research and methodological issues within my areas of interest. For each citation, I made sure to

provide a brief summary of the literature, as well as a description of how the publication could

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potentially fit into my proposed research. Using tools like an annotated bibliography will make it

much easier when writing the various stages of my doctoral dissertation. I will be able to refer

back this document to refresh my mind on the literature that I previously read, while also

referring to the comments and analyses of each citation.

Research Knowledge and Competencies – Artifact #3 – Multimedia CBL Sports Injury

Assessment Educational Tool

For the last artifact to demonstrate my research knowledge and competence, I have

decided to include an example of an original contribution to my research field – my multimedia

case-based learning sports injury assessment educational tool. This educational tool also

demonstrates research competence by showing how I have used feedback from my previous

research studies to make modifications and improvements to the tool and pedagogical strategy.

This educational tool was originally developed in a collaborative effort with my supervisor, Dr.

Gregg MacKinnon. We have been working on developing and improving this educational tool

over the last two years and it will continue to be modified as we receive more valuable feedback

from athletic therapy students and research participants throughout my doctoral research.

CBL is a pedagogical approach that is commonly used in health professional programs,

especially in the rehabilitative sciences. In athletic therapy education programs, students often

use case-based scenarios to practice the necessary skills required to assess and rehabilitate

various injuries. The main purpose of using this type of pedagogy is that each student will be

able to practice and learn in a simulated setting and hopefully their knowledge and skills will be

transferred over when they have to react to an actual injury situation. The purpose of creating the

multimedia case-based learning sports injury assessment educational tool was to use digital

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technologies to provide students with a database of realistic injury simulations. More

specifically, it was designed as a hybrid resource from a constructivist pedagogical framework to

be integrated into athletic therapy classroom s. This educational tool will be used for my

proposed doctoral research, as I will be exploring in more detail how athletic therapy students

specifically experience this type of pedagogy. As a Portfolio artifact, I have included the .pdf

version of the current educational tool.

After reviewing the athletic therapy educational literature, it became evident that there

are not a lot of publications dedicated to specific pedagogical strategies in athletic therapy

education. It appears that educators in this field rely upon strategies used in other health

professions or methods that they used themselves as students. Therefore, I wanted to dedicate my

doctoral research to exploring how athletic therapy students experience a commonly used

pedagogical strategy (case-based learning) and how technology can potentially impact this type

of pedagogy. Recognizing this gap within the literature led to the development of my original

research contribution: the multimedia case-based learning sports injury assessment educational

tool.

Creating an original contribution to the research community (such as the multimedia CBL

educational tool) meets the following student outcomes, as presented in the Inter-University PhD

in Educational Studies Doctoral Student Outcomes handout: 1) to develop a focused knowledge

of some issues in educational studies related to curriculum studies; 2) to gain respect and

appreciation for the scope of the research area that I am exploring; 3) to develop a keen sense of

self-awareness by reflecting upon my place in my discipline; and 4) and an awareness of

professional standards as I engage in creating an educational tool.

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Professional and Collegial Competencies – Artifact #1 – SITE Conference Presentations

On March 18th

, 2014, I had the opportunity to travel to Jacksonville, Florida to give two

conference presentations at the annual Society of Information Technology and Teacher

Education (SITE) Conference. During this international conference, I completed a Poster

Presentation entitled “A Sports Injury Case Study Model – Capitalizing on Virtual Reality

Technology” (winning an Outstanding Poster Award – Honorable Mention) and a 15-minute

Brief Paper Presentation on the topic - “Are Athletic Training educators ready for the digital

age? Attempting to understand the connection between technology and pedagogy”.

This conference experience allowed me to meet the following expectations for student

outcomes, as presented in the Inter-University PhD in Educational Studies Doctoral Student

Outcomes handout: 1) to develop a sense of self-awareness leading to meaningful reflection

about my place within athletic therapy education; 2) to develop the required capacity to be a

professional, academic and educational researcher; 3) practice communicating issues and

conclusions of my previous research; 4) to develop a network of relationships; 5) employ

interpersonal skills with fellow colleagues; and 6) translate research into knowledge that is

understandable to non-specialists.

My Poster Presentation summarized the main results of a pilot research project that was

completed in collaboration with my supervisor Dr. Gregg MacKinnon. It was through this

research project that led to the development of the Multimedia CBL Sports Injury Assessment

Educational Tool that will be used for my doctoral research. In my Brief Paper Presentation, I

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discussed the results of two of my most recent research projects (the aforementioned study as

well as another one that was completed with Dr. MacKinnon in April 2013 which explored the

impact of the educational tool on a sample of students from the University of Technology,

Jamaica) and outlined the plan/proposal for my future doctoral research.

This was my first exposure to international conference presentations and it was a very

valuable learning experience. It is actually hard to describe in a few words of how amazing of an

experience this truly was. Upon reflecting on the feedback, content of my presentations, and

complete conference experience, I now realize that I learned many things that will help to better

prepare me for future presentations and international conference participation. I gained

confidence in responding to pedagogical questions by having the opportunity to explain the

rationale for using case based learning in athletic therapy classrooms. I also gained experience in

articulating educational theory and explaining my rationale for my methodological choices.

These are useful skills and experiences that will prove to benefit me as I move through my

doctoral journey. At the SITE conference, I was also lucky enough to have both my supervisor

and another professor from my doctoral program, attend my presentations. Together, these

individuals gave me useful constructive criticism and positive feedback (e.g. tips for my

methodology, ways to improve my presentation, other topics to emphasize in future

presentations) that will only assist in improving my doctoral research as well as future

conference presentations.

One of the unique aspects of the SITE experience (especially during the Poster

Presentation Symposium) is that I had the opportunity to talk about my research plans and goals

with many different teachers, researchers, and teacher educators from all over the world. Even

though conference attendees were mostly from the United States, there was also representation

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from many other countries (e.g. Thailand, Ghana, Japan to name a few). Of all the presenters at

the conference, there were only few from Canada, so I was happy and honoured to represent my

program, university, province, and country. The conference also brought together educators

from diverse disciplines and people from many different backgrounds (e.g. university teachers,

k-12 teachers, etc.). I was initially surprised to see such a wide range of professionals that

seemed to be genuinely interested in my proposed doctoral research. Even though the vast

majority of attendees were unfamiliar with the profession of athletic therapy or sports injury

assessments they still seemed to be interested in my research. I found this to be very encouraging

and made sure to write detailed notes when reflecting on some of these conversations. These

notes and reflections (such as articulating educational theory, rationalizing methodological

choices, conversations about pedagogy, etc.) will allow me to think about additional questions

for my doctoral research or potential topics for future research projects. Furthermore, I realize

that conference presentations are a valuable way to disseminate the findings from my doctoral

research and I am excited to do so. Overall, the SITE conference was a great learning experience

for me and I learned a lot that will help to prepare me for future conference presentations.

Professional and Collegial Competencies – Artifact #2 – Dalhousie Medical School

Presentation

On November 12th

, 2014, I completed a one-hour presentation at Dalhousie Medical

School with a group of students from the Master of Education program in Curriculum for Health

Interprofessionals. This course is offered through a collaborative effort between Acadia

University’s School of Education and Dalhousie University’s Division of Medical Education.

My supervisor teaches one of the courses in this program and invited me to come present to the

class. The program itself is designed for health professionals, health professional educators and

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administrators who wish to explore classic and contemporary educational theory and research in

curriculum studies. This presentation provided me with the opportunity to talk about my

proposed doctoral research amongst a group of like-minded individuals: health professional

educators interested in increasing their pedagogical knowledge for the purpose of personal

growth. Additionally, I was also able to talk about my personal philosophical assumptions, why I

decided to situate myself within these assumptions, and a rationale for doing so. This was my

first chance to present on this specific topic (outside of discussions in my doctoral courses) and I

believe that this experience really helped me to understand educational theory, the importance of

philosophical assumptions, my methodological choices, and my research topic in general. By

preparing for this presentation, I was forced to think about my research questions, my proposed

methodology, and the methods that I was going to use for my future doctoral research. Thinking

about these topics in advance of my methodology doctoral course, really helped me to

contemplate about what it was that I really want to explore within my doctoral research.

During my presentation I also discussed my prior and current experiences as an

academic, athletic therapist and educational researcher. I explained how I have evolved in each

of these areas since starting my doctoral program. Before beginning this journey, I only had prior

experience with the positivistic/quantitative research perspective (like most health professionals)

and was often quick to be critical of most types of qualitative research. I explained to the group,

how and why I changed my own personal views/assumptions and how I now see the value in

multiple forms of research. I also provided a rationale explaining how multiple forms of research

should be used to explore complex social phenomenon such as student learning in the health

professions. This presentation made me think about my personal educational philosophy and

theoretical framework which will prepare me for my future doctoral work. Through my courses,

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I have learned about the importance of situating my own research within specific traditions,

paradigms, assumptions, and theoretical frameworks. This presentation was a great learning

exercise that got me thinking about these concepts while also articulating my current positions to

other health professionals.

During this presentation, I believe that I met the following student outcomes as outlined

in the Inter-University PhD in Educational Studies Doctoral Student Outcomes handout: 1) to

develop a comprehensive and detailed understanding of educational theory; 2) to develop

knowledge in the historical and philosophical study of education; 3) to gain a theoretical grasp of

the philosophy of inquiry within a specific context; 4) to increase knowledge in a wide range of

methodological approaches (seeing the value of multiple forms of research); 5) to learn how to

communicate effectively using a variety of media; and 6) demonstrate conceptual understanding

and methodological competence.

Professional and Collegial Competencies – Artifact #3 – Contributions to APATA

In the future it is my main goal to balance the life between being an academic and health

professional. Therefore, it will become very important for me to find equilibrium between my

active professional engagement and my academic responsibilities. However, there is often a lot

of overlap between these two areas. For example, dedicated service towards a provincial or

national health professional association can also be used in an academic dossier for promotion.

As a certified athletic therapist, I see the value in volunteering for the various

associations that I am a member of, because these not-for-profit organizations depend upon its

members to function, improve, and progress towards the future. If our members are not directly

involved in running the association, then they will cease to exist. Currently, I am the acting

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President of the Atlantic Provinces Athletic Therapists Association (APATA) which is a not for

profit organization dedicated to enhancing and promoting the delivery of the highest quality of

care to active individuals within the Atlantic Provinces. As a Portfolio artifact, I have provided a

summary of the various roles and responsibilities of my position within APATA over the last

year.

By acting as President of APATA, I believe that I met the following student outcomes as

outlined in the Inter-University PhD in Educational Studies Doctoral Student Outcomes handout:

to develop a comprehensive and detailed understanding of educational theory: 1) respect for the

need to follow a flexible course of action leading to personal self-sufficiency and professional

achievements; 2) awareness of, and adherence to, professional codes of conduct; 3) leadership

through successful guidance and mentoring of other professionals; 4) use reflective, rational, and

critical thinking to gather and interpret information in order to form judgments; and 5) apply

creative and divergent thinking leading to the conception of new ideas and practices with the

intention to improve and advance current knowledge within the athletic therapy profession.

My roles and responsibilities as APATA President include: hosting and facilitating bi-

monthly Board of Director meetings, educating people about the profession of athletic therapy,

developing initiatives to help promote the athletic therapy profession throughout the Atlantic

Provinces, hosting and facility our Annual General Meeting, writing bi-monthly newsletters, and

day-to-day operations of the organization (e.g. developing membership invoices, generating

receipts, etc.). I am passionate about both my professional and academic responsibilities and will

continue to be involved with my professional associations throughout my career. I want to make

a significant impact within my profession and help to legitimize our profession as it attempts to

become more recognized throughout the country.

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Teaching and Instructional Competencies – Artifact #1 – Acadia University Teaching

Experiences

For the past six years, I have been teaching in some capacity within the School of Recreation

Management and Kinesiology at Acadia University. I began as a part-time lecturer in 2008,

teaching one course per semester in courses related to sports injury assessment and rehabilitation,

and worked my way up to being promoted to full-time instructor in 2012. This past year I taught

the following courses: KINE 3423 – Assessment of Athletic Injuries of the Upper Extremity;

KINE4843 – Fundamentals of Sport Rehabilitation; as well as instructed labs in: KINE2023 –

Care and Prevention of Athletic Injuries; KINE3213 – Motor Learning; KINE3343 – Fitness

Programming; KINE4013 – Training Methods; and KINE4333 – Physiological Assessment. As a

Portfolio artifact, I have provided a summary of my teaching philosophy, copies of student

evaluations, as well as my most recent letter from a professional development meeting. All of

these documents will highlight my performance as a post-secondary educator.

My teaching experiences at Acadia have allowed me to meet the following student outcomes

as outlined in the Inter-University Doctoral Student Outcomes handout: 1) to develop a keen

sense of self-awareness leading to engagement in meaningful reflection about my place in my

discipline; 2) to gain respect for the need to follow a flexible course of action leading to personal

self-sufficiency; 3) to demonstrate a well-honed capacity to teach in a university context; 4) and

to demonstrate teaching competence by explaining complex concepts in various contexts and

adjusting instructions to various learning styles.

Even though I thoroughly enjoy teaching, it originally scared me when I realized that I did

not really know how to teach when I first came to Acadia. When preparing for classes, I would

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often reflect upon my own educational experiences (from both my Kinesiology and Athletic

Therapy undergraduate degrees), use methods/strategies that I personally benefited from, and

avoided any methods that I did not consider to be effective. This appears to be a common

practice in health professional education because many of these educators, including me, become

teachers just because they are known to have a high level of content knowledge within their

respective disciplines. When I was hired, I had a high level of content knowledge in sports injury

assessment and rehabilitation but little to no pedagogical knowledge. Even though my initial

teaching evaluations were very positive, I was still discontented with my level of pedagogical

knowledge. This led me to advance my teaching knowledge by completing a Master’s degree in

Education and then enrolling in this Doctoral program in Educational Studies. During these

experiences, I have been introduced to many new pedagogical theories, perspectives, methods,

and strategies. Since starting this doctoral program and significantly increasing my own

pedagogical knowledge, I made sure to reflect upon my prior teaching practices and methods.

Upon this reflection, I decided to integrate new strategies and methods to help facilitate student

learning including: case-based learning, Socratic teaching techniques, reflective journals, and

problem-based learning. I used these strategies in an attempt to move away from rote

memorization (which is a common trend in students in these courses) and to try and promote

activities that allowed for critical and independent thinking. When learning about the human

body and how it works, it is very important for these students to develop the necessary skills to

be able to think critically, solve problems, and look at a problem from multiple perspectives. As I

continue through my doctoral journey, I know that I will learn a lot more about various types of

technology, pedagogy, and the integration between these types of knowledge. Therefore it is

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important for me to constantly reflect upon these new forms of knowledge, to continuously

improve as an educator, researcher, and health professional.

Teaching and Instructional Competencies – Artifact #2 – Undergraduate Honours

Supervision

Over the past year, I supervised three undergraduate Kinesiology students as they completed

various stages of Acadia’s honours thesis program. Two students were in the third year of their

program, meaning I completed a one-on-one directed readings course with each student and will

continue to supervise them again next year as they complete their actual research projects. The

other student was in her fourth year, so she completed her research project and thesis write-up

this year, submitting her final copy in April, 2014. As a Portfolio artifact, I have provided an

outline of my work as a supervisor over the last year and testimonials from two of my current

honours students.

My experiences as a supervisor met the following student outcomes as outlined in the Inter-

University Doctoral Student Outcomes handout by demonstrating: 1) to gain a substantive

knowledge of a wide range of methodological approaches to research and attendant methods for

data collection and analysis; 2) to become aware of, and adhere to, professional codes of conduct

and standards during research; 3) to develop leadership through successful guidance and

mentoring of students; 4) to develop interpersonal skills with students through one-on-one

interactions; and 5) to gain teaching competence by explaining complex concepts in various

contexts.

Being a supervisor to undergraduate students was a very valuable learning experience for me

and it will be sure to benefit me as I continue through my doctoral journey. I found that having

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frequent discussions with my students on topics such as different types of research design,

ethical considerations, literature reviews, research methods, data collection methods, data

analysis, interpretations of results, etc., provided me with the forum to talk about topics that I

have been reading about extensively as a doctoral student. This was especially helpful when

completing my methodological seminar course because I felt that I was well versed in different

research methods and understanding the rationale for using these different types and designs.

Using a social constructivist methodology for my proposed research, I am assuming that there is

no universal type of methodology to investigate complex social phenomenon like student

learning. It is imperative to use multiple forms of methodologies and methods to explore these

complex interactions. Thus it is important for me to be able to be familiar with, understand, and

evaluate different types of research methodologies and methods. During my doctoral courses, I

felt that I was able to share these opinions and experiences (from my honours supervision) with

my fellow classmates.

As a supervisor I made certain that each student had full control of their own research

project, and that I was just there to educate, support, and guide them through the process. I liked

using this approach, as it allowed me to help them along, without being too controlling. This

way, each student was able to learn and understand the different components that are required

during the research process. As a future academic, I would like to supervise Master’s and

potentially Doctoral candidates. Therefore, experiences like these undergraduate supervisions

will help to better prepare me for these future endeavors.

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Teaching and Instructional Competencies – Artifact #3 – CATA Committee Work

Since starting my doctoral program, my national athletic therapy association (the

Canadian Athletic Therapists Association) has noted my commitment to exploring ways to

improve athletic therapy education. I am very passionate about this area, which is why I decided

to complete my doctoral research on how athletic therapy students experience different

pedagogical methods (and how technology impacts these types of pedagogy). Throughout the

last year, I was identified as an “educational expert” by various CATA committees, and was

asked to help out these committees in different capacities. These experiences included: 1)

Content Expert for the CATA National Certification Exam – the purpose of this position was

to review and provide comments of the evaluative tools and procedures of the national practical

certification exams; 2) Abstract Reviewer for CATA National Conference Presentations –

the purpose of this position was to review and evaluate abstract submissions of research projects

that were submitted for presentation at our annual CATA conference; 3) Member of the CATA

Continuing Education Task Force - the mission of this task force was to review the existing

policies and procedures of issuing continuing education units (CEUs) for post-certification

professional development activities, to identify areas for change within existing continuing

education requirements, and if recommended, to develop a transitional strategy from the existing

model; and 4) CATA Distance Education Course Evaluation Committee – the purpose of this

position was to participate in and evaluate various distance education courses that are applicable

to the athletic therapy profession. As a Portfolio artifact, I have included a summary of my

responsibilities for each position as well as letters of support from the heads of these CATA

committees.

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These committee experiences led to the following student outcomes as outlined in the

Inter-University Doctoral Student Outcomes handout, by establishing: 1) a thorough

understanding of a substantial body of knowledge that is at the forefront of athletic therapy

education; 2) knowledge of a wide range of methodological approaches to research and methods

for data collection and analysis; 3) appreciation for the potential contributions of other research

interpretations, methods, and disciplines; 4) active citizenship engagement; 5) advanced

analytical and creative skills, particularly in relation to research evaluation; and 6) respecting the

link between research and civic/social responsibilities.

As an educator within the athletic therapy field, it is important to be acquainted with

different research methods, types of pedagogy, evaluation techniques, and testing procedures.

These committee experiences allowed me to become familiarized with various concepts and

theories in these areas while also having the opportunity to reflect upon my own educational

practices. As an educator, it is important to continuously reflect and evaluate your own teaching

practices to ensure that you are an effective facilitator of knowledge construction. At the end of

each semester/class, I make sure to reflect upon the strategies/methods used in each particular

class and how they were received by students, through evaluation, comments, and informal

conversations. Continuing this practice throughout my career will help me to improve as an

educator, researcher, and academic.

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Conclusion

When reflecting upon the last year, it is hard to believe that a year has gone by already

and I am finished the course requirements of my doctoral studies. Over the last year, I have

grown significantly as an educator, researcher, and health professional and look forward to the

next step of my doctoral journey. More specifically my doctoral studies have allowed me to

become: 1) more knowledgeable about general educational theory and philosophy (including

ontological, epistemological, and methodological considerations); 2) more knowledgeable in my

in-depth research area; 3) more knowledgeable about various types of research; 4) a better

communicator; 5) more of a critical thinker; and 6) more reflective, especially about my teaching

and professional practices. I hope this Narrative Paper adequately articulates my growth as a

doctoral student and demonstrates my level of competency in each of the five required areas. I

look forward to further presenting my progression as a doctoral student to you in my Portfolio

presentation.